Long Time, No See
by 66sixx
Summary: I thought I could start fresh. I thought I could die and give birth to a new person. I thought I could disappear. And then, everything came back.
1. Mir Campbell, Long Time, No See

**August 15, 2005, Whiskey Corridor, 1205hrs**

"Mir Campbell... Long time, no see." A voice spoke over the radio. Kira Hibiki realized the connection between Mir and their longtime nemesis, Alisa Markova. Kira was befuddled. _"__How __could __Mir __have __worked __for __her__?" _she thought to herself. At that moment, another aircraft appeared directly in front of her. She could hear the bullets clanging into her craft. As the craft passed by Kira, she tried to turn to engage the enemy bird, but she now had no control over hers.

"Kira! Do you read?!" Her wingman Lance Klijn attempted to get through to Kira.

"I read you, Lance. But I can't fly this thing. Eject!" Kira pushed a button that was supposed to open the canopy, but the canopy had been welded to the craft by that unexpected pass. The warnings blared as Kira looked back and saw the Berkut fly back toward her. The Berkut pulled up only after firing off another missile. At long last, the canopy opened, allowing Kira to eject and retreat.

"Kira Hibiki here, I've just ejec..." Her radio fell silent as Lance and Mir saw the explosion coming from Kira's Black Widow. It took a glimpse of Kira's falling body to realize that she didn't make her escape in time. There was complete silence.

"Enemy aircraft has withdrawn, return to base." The order given to them sounded like it was slowed to the sunrise and sunset of a whole day to Lance. It took a repetition of the order for him to turn his plane around. As they flew back home, he reflected on the battle. _"__Mir __Campbell__... __Long __time__, __no __see__."_

"Mir, what did she mean?" Lance asked about any possible link between Mir and Markova. When Mir failed to answer, Lance asked again, trying ever so hard to stay calm. "Archangel 10, do you read?"

"Archangel squadron, you are cleared to land." Commander Baelz's voice came on. The two surviving pilots slowed down. Lance slowed down a bit more to allow Mir to land first. The two craft descended and made a perfect landing. Their cockpits opened and they undid their harnesses. Lance had rested his head on the seat when the plane touched down. He needed every ounce of his will to leave the cockpit. The critical moment played again in his head. _"__Mir __Campbell__... __Long __time__, __no __see__."_ Lance realized what those words meant. Mir just happened to be within Lance's field of vision. Lance charged at Mir, prepared to strike him across the face. Mir offered no resistance. Now that Lance knew his secret, what right or reason did Mir have to defend himself. He had his hand in this sequence of events. Now he tried to atone by letting Lance throw him around. He soon found himself pinned against a wall with a gun to his head, Lance's gun.

"'Mir Campbell... Long time, no see.' Now, I know _exactly_ what she meant! So how did _you_ become friends with Markova!?" Mir could feel the gun shaking in Lance's hand. He took a breath and prepared for what could be his final words.

**December 20, 2003, 1130hrs_  
_**_Mir __Campbell_

"Cadets, you have shown the qualities that are a must should you wish to take to the skies for Erusea. You all have shown heart, dedication, endurance, and most important of all, courage. Over the last four years, each of us has suffered tragic losses. But it takes the qualities I have seen from you, all of you, to stand up for yourselves, your families, and each other. From this point forward, you are no longer cadets. Let me be the first to address you as Airmen of the Federal Erusean Air Force!" The commander of the Air Force, Alisa Markova, came up to each one of us and shook our hands. I could hear her congratulate each one of us with the same but still heartfelt "congratulations", then she came up to me. She shook my hand, but instead of a simple "congratulations", she told me that I would "do many otherwise impossible things." She continued down the line until she had met every new Airman here. I became her most favored Airman.

_But __this __brought __me __more __harm __than __good__..._

**December 16, 2004, Faith Park Ravine, 1640****hrs**_  
__Federal __Erusean __Air __Force  
__SAC __Mir __Campbell__, __Blue__ 4_

"ETA, 15 seconds." Commander Markova told me. "All aircraft, flow to ravine." My instincts told me to dive for the deck. As I found safety in the ravine, I quickly leveled my plane, lest the ground do me in. "As long as we have Stonehenge, we have their fates in our hands. Isn't that right, Blue 4?" I could only watch as the ISAF pilots struggled to retreat to the ravine we were flying in. I had a front row seat to Stonehenge's display of almost divine power. Usea was nothing without this turret network, it had saved the continent from desolation. Now, it would save Erusea from her oppressors. White streaks lined the skies in a fireworks display that would never be rivaled. It was then that I saw several planes literally disintegrated and its pilots atomized. One shot hovered just above me and exploded near a fellow Erusean pilot. I radioed my wingmen.

"This is Blue 4..." My voice was lost to the radio chatter. I listen carefully to every callsign mentioned.

"Black 2's dead!"

"Black 8 off the scope!"

"White 5 shot down!"

"White 1! Do you read?!"

"Blue 3 is down!" My heart skipped a beat when I heard the callsign of my best friend since the Academy. We were blood brothers our first day there. We stuck up for one another. We were almost always seen together. Just yesterday, we were more than wingmen. And now I was alone. He would never touch down.

"A-Alex? Alex! Oh, God... no... no! No! Alex!"

_On __that __day__, __everything __I __knew __became __a __lie__..._

**December 31, 2004, Comona Islands, 1340hrs**

"This is Blue 4! Plane is inoperable! Ejecting!"

"Blue 4, there is no damage to your craft." Ignoring the AWACS, I pitched my craft down toward an island and the canopy opened. I was thrown from the craft while my bird fell into the island below me. The parachute opened up as my plane crashed into the woods. I was safely lowered to the city under my feet.

_Once __on __the __ground__, __I __had __to __start __over__..._

**March 14, 2005, Chopinburg, 1534hrs**

"Flight 701 here. We were shot on takeoff and our captain's injured. This is First Officer Nagase."

"10-4, an escort is inbound. Both aircraft maintain your course." The Eruseans were hell bent on keeping the secrets of the Stonehenge Turret Network out of the hands of the ISAF. But I knew that they had another reason to get us. I looked out through the window and saw the air battle above us. Just in time to see a missile impact Flight 702.

"Flight 702 hit!" It was then that I saw a lone ISAF pilot cut through the sky toward us. The Erusean pilot stopped firing upon them to engage the escort. With no effort, the ISAF ace took out the Erusean. It was only moments later that we were told about two more pilots coming our way.

"Flight 701, can you raise altitude? This will assist the ISAF escort"

"Negative. We cannot maintain cabin pressure if we climb!" Nagase turned toward us and told us to take the captain to the back. The ISAF fighter engaged the two Erusean fighters who were not quick enough to turn from the missile and were destroyed. We could hear the dogfight from inside the airliner. Almost immediately after that encounter, Nagase took advantage of this crucial moment.

"SkyEye, this is Flight 701. Scramble the fire engines and ambulance back at base."

"Flight 701, SkyEye. You are almost out of Erusean airspace." There was nothing left but to watch the air battle near Flight 702. The ISAF fighter turned around and engaged the three Erusean craft. Intense maneuvers kept the Eruseans busy, but every so often, one of them got a shot off and threatened the civilian aircraft. There was eventually an explosion.

"Wow, that ISAF plane is flying solo!" Another Erusean fell while the other three pilots entered a fully fledged dogfight. The ISAF plane outmaneuvered his foes while they tried to do the same to him. It worked for a while. The wings of the Erusean pilots were clipped when the ISAF pilot took an extra step and broke rhythm, allowing him to shoot down the two fighters that had harassed him for so long.

_As __we __crossed __that __border__, __I __realized __what __I __should __have __fought __for__. __But __now__, __in __her __eyes__, __I __was __a __fallen __angel__..._

"SkyEye, this is Flight 701. All passengers and crew are safe."

Having heard Mir's side of the story, Lance retracted his pistol from the former Erusean's head.

"Fine... but don't think you can get my trust back that easily." With two fingers, Lance pointed at both of his eyes and then at both of Mir's eyes. "I have my eyes on you, Campbell..."

* * *

**Author's notes **

**After watching Mobile Suit Gundam Seed Destiny (plus Darkmoon Fleur's fic _Vanishing Dreams_), and footage of Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3, I talked with a friend (a different author) about his plot analysis of Vanishing Dreams and the Blood Brothers mission from MW3. He later wrote a short fic deriving from and taking place after Vanishing Dreams (which he has decided not to post). I actually had the idea for this fic for a while before acting on it and a week later, here it is. Yes, I did change the order of events from its portrayal in AC4, but this is to give background on how Mir ended up fighting for the ISAF and is not intended to be accurate in any way. ****I plan on writing a second chapter involving Erusea's true last stand at Megalith in the near future. Until then, read and review; your criticism will not go unheard.**


	2. Full Speed Ahead

**August 17, 2005, 1827hrs  
**Independent State Allied Forces  
SrA Lance Klijn, Archangel 2

I was with some of my fellow wingmen in the Archangel Squadron shooting pool with a radio in the background when we heard that broadcast.

"Yes we are receiving word that on August 17th at 6:25PM, the Federal Republic of Erusea has just formally surrendered to the ISAF. They have agreed to honor the quota set back in the summer of 1999 in exchange for humanitarian aid from the United Nations..."

"So what, we won?!"

"Yes! We can go home!" Thus started a chain of cheer and celebration. Almost a year ago, we had all but lost. Today, the continent was restored to how it should have been.

**August 20, 2005, 0418hrs**

"All hands on deck! The Eruseans are telling us something!" I instantly think to myself. _The Eruseans? They surrendered already! It's over! What's left to fight for?_

"The Erusean government has enslaved itself to the other nations of the Usean continent. How much have we Eruseans given up for the welfare of the rest of Usea?..." Echoing in my mind were Alisa Markova's words to Mir. _"Mir Campbell... Long time, no see." _Could I really trust Mir? If I wanted Markova dead and this war over, I had no choice, he was the only one who hated Markova more than I did. He had a reason to come here.

"... We have done much more than Usea can ever repay us for. And yet they ask for more like a child that never grows up. Every day, I ask myself how Erusea can put up with spoonfeeding the rest of Usea. It is the responsibility of us Eruseans to take back what's ours!..." Each and every one of us has given more than we can ever take. Doesn't she realize that Erusea is not alone in its effort to restore the status quo as best it can? I joined the ISAF to defend everyone who can't defend themselves. Each of us took it upon themselves to absolve those back home of wrongdoing and save them from peril. As long as she was willing to bring Usea to ruin, we were willing to risk it all.

**August 20, 2005, 0544hrs**

We were called together to discuss the Erusean superweapon, Megalith. This weapon was the only thing that was keeping the war alive. If it was destroyed, Usea would be truly free. If it wasn't, then the Erusean rebels will take control. This was truly the Day of Judgement. The ISAF emblem flashed on screen, followed by a map of Usea. Our marshall, Jordan, described Megalith in detail as the map zoomed in on its general location.

"A group of young Erusean officers have taken over Megalith, the superweapon that was under development. Megalith is a rocket launch facility that can shoot down asteroid fragments in orbit. The only way to destroy this highly dangerous and fortified facility is to hit it from the inside." A diagram of Megalith was shown with three red dots showing our targets.

"Follow the missile port grooves to find the three generators deep within the facility. Destroy the generators to access the central heat vent." The three dots vanished and a fourth, larger red dot appeared.

"Once inside, destroy the giant missile in the central silo. An infiltration unit will secure your escape route. Their plan calls for waiting until the generators are off-line, and then taking over the sub-control room once the blackout hits. Enter this rat's nest with full confidence that the unit will get you out again. It's highly likely that this will be your final mission. But remember, we need heroes after the war too. Make it back in one piece... dismissed!"

**August 20, 2005, Twinkle Islands, 0714hrs**

"Good morning troops, I have an important announcement: In one hour, each one of you will take part in the most important mission in our history - a mission that will result in the defeat of the vile enemy who has brought chaos to our continent. Although we are from different nations and of different races, we have fought, suffered and died together, fighting for what we believe in - fighting for freedom. Today, we shall gather for our final battle, to liberate our beautiful continent and restore freedom to our people, our friends, and our families. Our victory will herald the beginning of a new era of prosperity for the Usean Continent. Victory will be ours! We shall return peace to our people, and win back our freedom, and our future! The skies belong to everyone! Now, let us take back our 'shattered skies'!" I sat in my cockpit as this speech blared throughout the base. I closed my eyes and let the events of the war unfold behind my eyelids. _Allenfort, Rigley, Comberth Harbor, Faith Park, Comona, Istas Fortress. I saw myself waiting to hear from Kira while she was over Chopinburg. That day, an eager pilot came into our squadron. He called himself "Campbell". Having taken him under our wing, we soon destroyed Stonehenge and later emancipated San Salvación. We were invincible! _

"_Mir Campbell, long time, no see." _Those were the last words I remember hearing before the Eruseans disillusioned us. _Why Kira? _My face falls into my hand as my tears fall freely. I needed some time before I took to the sky one last time before I take off. As I flip the switch and fire up the engine, my eyes come across a CD case. I turn the engine off and open the cockpit.

"Klijn! Something happen?" my commanding officer, Marshall David Jordan asks me what happened.

"Found this in my plane." I hand the disc to the Marshall. He examines the case and remembers something.

"Oh, this. Campbell wanted you to have it. He recorded it this morning." _So that's why Mir stayed back!_

"Alright, I'm taking off. Repeat, Archangel 2 taking off!"

**August 20, 2005, Twinkle Islands, 0830hrs**

"SkyEye here. All Archangel aircraft report."

"Archangel 2 on standby."

"Archangel 3 on standby."

"Archangel 4 on standby."

"Archangel 5 on standby."

"Archangel 6 on standby."

"Archangel 7 on standby."

"Archangel 8 on standby."

"Archangel 9 on standby."

"Archangel 10 on standby."

"Preparations complete, ready for battle. All aircraft cleared to engage." We hit the afterburners and in the distance, we saw the last pilots standing between us and Megalith.

"Tally ho! Nine bandits!"

"This is it! Yellow 15, engage!" The two squadrons merged and the battle began. Pilots from both sides twisted around each other trying to find an opening that would let us break through. Occasionally, someone was shot down and we heard them scream "Eject!" Some of them were hostiles, others were enemies.

"Bravo 1 here, all teams are on the 13th floor. But we can't get the subcontrol room to open. There's an electronic lock. We'll hold here until the generators are destroyed..."

"Here they come! Don't let the enemy through Panel K!"

"Altman, use your hand grenades!"

"Dammit! They've got a flamethrower! Shoot, Shoot! Over by the stairs!"

"Enemy radar spike!" _Come on, give me a way out! _A Yellow passes in front of me and I pursue it. He has no time to turn before I fire a couple of missiles at his tail. "Fox Two!" The missiles explode and his canopy opens. I look at my radar. _A break in the line! Yes!_ I make a beeline for the Erusean superweapon and make it to the first generator unchallenged. I slow down and fly carefully through the tunnel and fire a missile to destroy the target at the end.

"First target destroyed." I emerge from the tunnel to see the furball about to roll over me. But what stuck out to me were three aircraft heading in my direction. Two disappear into the second tunnel to my left, a wingman and a bandit. One flies toward me head on. I dive and force him to circle back around toward me. By then, he was too distant to keep me out of the third tunnel.

"Fox Two!" The wingman with the bandit behind him shot a missile at the second generator. Three blips on the radar vanished.

"Archangel 5 crashed!" I heard from my radio. I see an orange arrow facing up toward the center of the scope. I have to get out of this tunnel before he gets a missile off. I accelerate until I approach the bend in the tunnel and fire. As I exit the tunnel, the blip behind me disappears.

**August 20, 2005, Twinkle Islands, 0845hrs  
**Independent State Allied Forces  
A1C Mir Campbell, Archangel 10

"Alright! The panel's open! Break through! Break through! Don't let those pilots die!" There were only three of us left in the air when I heard the signal. Lance had just come out of the tunnel while I was trapped in of Markova's field of vision. I had to keep twisting and looking for a way out of her sight. After circling endlessly in an attempt to get out of her way, I gave up and made a beeline for the last tunnel. It was now a full speed chase to the missile. As I entered the cave, all light disappeared save enough light for me to see where I was.

"Archangel 10, bandit behind you!" There was nothing but me, Markova, and this tunnel.

An alert buzzed in my cockpit as my radar picked up the missile. As I finally see my final target for myself, my craft rocked and the tunnel lit up. My radar doesn't work, I can't fire anything, no time to think of anything, but I have to destroy that missile! I have no choice, no way out, it's full speed ahead for me.

**0849hrs  
**Independent State Allied Forces  
SrA Lance Klijn, Archangel 2

"This is Archangel 10, target neutr..." Three blips disappeared from my radar and a series of explosions caught my attention. Nothing came out of the inferno.

"Target destroyed!"

"Bravo 2 here, that plane that flew in, is it alright?" I pick up the radio and deliver the status of the pilots that flew into the tunnel.

"No. Archangel 10 crashed."

"So, did we win?"

Our AWACS came on. "I don't know. History determines the winner. But there's one thing I can say for certain. Heroes really do exist."

"Archangel 2 here, returning to base..."


	3. My Last Words

**August 20, 2005, 1002hrs**

Independent State Allied Forces

SrA Lance Klijn, Archangel 2

"Archangel 2, cleared to land. Welcome home, Lance."

"Good to be back home." The landing gear rolled against the tarmac and slowed me safely to a stop.

"I believe this belongs to you." The Marshall handed me the disc I found in my craft this morning. Mir had recorded this not even four hours ago. What did he want to say? I read the front of the case. "This can be viewed in private or at my funeral. But if I make it back to base, return this to me. -Mir Campbell"

"When _is_ the funeral?"

"We were going to have a memorial service today until Markova came on the radio this morning. I think Campbell had a reason for putting this in your cockpit. It will be at 1400 hours, by the way."

**August 20, 2005, 1157hrs**

The funeral's in two hours. I push the disc in and click "Open Contents". A single file came up. "My last words". mp4. I double click it and the screen goes blank. A recording starts. Mir is sitting in front of the camera. The date and time on the screen is August 20, 2005, 06:11, almost six hours ago.

"Every day, I think about what I've done in this war. I joined the Federal Erusean Air Force because as an Erusean, I felt wronged by the ISAF. Both sides had their brothers in arms who fought together whatever the cost. You and Kira were like that. And that's why I defected to the ISAF, because they understand what words like 'brother' and 'sister' meant. The Eruseans killed my best friend with no remorse. I had nothing left." Mir dropped his head and sobbed. His head rose and he continued.

"I came to the ISAF to abandon my past. But the past caught up to me. Kira died because of me. Almost everyone I knew had died because of me." Mir sobbed again.

"I see today as my day of judgement. I had served both sides of the war, good and evil. I don't know what will happen today, but I do know that I will answer for everything I've destroyed. And with that, Godspeed, Lance."

He had come into the ISAF virtually out of nowhere, I hadn't even heard his name, yet when he introduced himself, he looked like he could burn Erusea to a crater. "The Eruseans have taken everything from me." That day, five days ago, I confronted Campbell about his role in Kira's death, I learned why he came to the ISAF. He came for the same reason I confronted him. Setting our differences aside, we took to the skies one last time. This war took so much from us, so much that we couldn't get back. At least, they can never take anything else from us again.

**August 20, 2005, 1400hrs**

"I first saw Mir Campbell after I returned from an escort mission across the Erusean Border. He had that fire in his eyes that only appears after you've lost it all. Over the skies of San Salvación, I could hear Kira crying for everyone to hear on the way home, she had killed her best friend, Aegis Salas, I also heard Campbell choke back tears as well. I tried to ask him why he was crying, but he simply wouldn't answer. About three and a half weeks passed since Kira was changed forever. We were on our way home from a sortie when an enemy pilot appeared in front of us. She introduced herself as a close friend of Campbell's and clipped Kira's wings." I took a moment to calm myself down. Then I continued.

"I was bewildered by Campbell's friendship with the enemy leader Markova. At the same time, I was angry that Kira died. In my anger, I concluded that Campbell had a hand in her death and made him my enemy. When I confronted him about that day, he finally told me why he defected to the ISAF. Markova had ordered Stonehenge to fire. While Campbell and a few of his friends and enemies dove to safety, his sworn brother had been caught by a turret round. Days later, he faked his death and defected to the ISAF."

"I realized that he was here to end the war that had taken so much from us. This morning, he left a disc in my cockpit explaining why he fought for ISAF. 'Because they understand what words like 'brother' and 'sister' meant. The Eruseans killed my best friend with no remorse. I had nothing left.' Hours after recording this, he made the ultimate sacrifice. I know this is how he would have liked all of this to end after losing so much." Almost on cue, three F-22's passed over us in the missing man formation. The thought of the friends we lost over the last year overwhelmed me, my head fell into my hand and I could feel the hot tears falling from my face. Without my knowledge, my legs carried me back to my seat. I am so glad that this war is finally over. _Campbell, I don't know what to say... Thank you..._

**End of **_**Long Time, No See**_

**Author's Note: **This story could have fit into three categories. The combat and general universe are from Ace Combat 04. Some story elements (especially Mir's backstory and Kira's death) were taken from Act III of Call of Duty: MW3. Other story elements, character names and some character traits were taken from Mobile Suit Gundam SEED Destiny. Unfortunately, there are only two categories under which crossover fiction can be classified. I have a poll set up for you to vote on which two categories under which this story should appear. I might include a "Behind the Scenes" chapter where I explain things like events, characters, etc.


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